Air traffic efficiencies a "must" says DFS boss

That’s the view of Achim Baumann, regional manager Middle East at DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, one of Europe ’s largest air navigation service providers (ANSP).

Baumann says that the economic downturn is not only an issue in Europe , but also in the MENA region.

He suggests there are three ways of becoming more efficient in air traffic management, while enhancing safety: “One is to harmonise the airspace structures and operational concepts, as the airspace in the Middle East is, to a great extent, fragmented,” he said. “Stakeholders should also consider if their existing systems are being fully utilised with all their abilities and capacities before investing in new ones.

“The reliability of flights in the Middle East could also be further enhanced if everybody involved in the flight and turn-around process received the information they needed in a reliable and timely manner. However, in order to reach more efficiency for the complete air traffic management (ATM) system, it is necessary to view all the elements holistically and to collaborate beyond national borders.”

DFS practices what it preaches. In 2002, it completed a comprehensive restructuring of German airspace and reduced the number of sectors, despite an increase in air traffic.

This type of restructuring – apart from enhanced safety – also led to efficiencies as more direct flight paths became available. Furthermore, better use of aircraft and air traffic management technology can result in an extended application of user-preferred routing.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that since 2006 it has saved $40 million by shortening routes and $46 million by adopting Area Navigation (RNAV) approaches in the MENA region.

Moreover DFS, together with the Munich Airport operator, introduced the first Airport Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) process in 2007, based on the approach by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. A study on Airport CDM Network Impact Assessment, based on experience at Munich , has shown that the implementation of airport CDM could increase sector capacity within the core area by up to four per cent.

According to Achim Baumann, military organisations should also be included in the planning.

DFS was one of the sponsors of the Air Traffic Control Optimization Summit, held in Dubai in October, where better civil/military collaboration, both in airspace and ATM systems, was the theme of an address by the company’s military policies specialist Volker Görldt. He said that with increasing pressure on airspace it is imperative that this collaboration takes place.

The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) Middle East Regional Office, which was established in June 2009 and which is actively supported by DFS, focuses on ensuring that Middle East airspace can meet future demands. Several workshops have already been held to deal with this challenge.

In January, IATA also called on governments, air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and aviation groups to urgently address air traffic inefficiencies that jeopardise the sustainability of Middle Eastern aviation.

Dr Majdi Sabri, regional vice president IATA Middle East North Africa, said: “The Middle East is one of the most dynamic aviation markets in the world, expanding from five per cent of international traffic to 10 per cent in the past seven years. But we are not immune to the global recession.

“Airlines in this region will lose $200 million in 2009 as traffic growth slows dramatically. In this environment every cent counts and both aviation and the environment can no longer afford a wasteful air traffic control system.”

DFS has other ways of bringing efficiencies to the industry. At the upcoming Dubai Airshow (stand W346c) it will be demonstrating its approaches to safety and efficiency using the Incident Analyser tool, which allows air traffic situations to be visualised and replayed.

Also at the show will be its 4D Planner, an arrival manager that optimises the approach sequence at airports. The demonstrator on the stand will be displaying an airspace situation from the Middle Eastern region.

The 4D Planner registers all arriving aircraft within a range of 150 or more kilometres around the airport. It then continuously calculates the remaining flight time on the basis of different parameters, such as speed, descent rate, traffic volume and controller activities and defines an optimal approach sequence.

The tool can be easily integrated into existing environments due to its modular structure. In Germany , the 4D Planner is in use at Munich and Frankfurt airport. Early results showed a reduction in the average approach time of approximately 60 seconds.

DFS is very active in the MENA region and is currently working on the procurement and installation of primary and secondary radar systems in Bahrain and in procedure design in Saudi Arabia .

In February, air traffic controllers at the Egypt National Air Navigation Services Company also practiced new approach procedures to Cairo airport on DFS simulators in Langen , Germany .

In Germany , DFS staff coordinate up to 10,000 aircraft movements every day, and more than three million movements every year.

Germany has the highest traffic volume in Europe and DFS operates control centres in Langen , Bremen , Karlsruhe and Munich . In addition, DFS staff work in the control towers of the 16 international airports in Germany , as well as at the Eurocontrol Centre in Maastricht , the Netherlands .